Paint brush structure



,rune 24, 1941. A, T, 'ADAMS 2,246,773

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT RE E, I v? "PI-M III: i; ZZ U j@ V l TIT mm J f 2hy|1411 y) 1 j jg I l /l l) r JZ lli Patented June 24, 1941 tJiTED STATES3 Claims.

The present invention relates to a paint brush and has particularreference to a paint brush that is easily cleaned and more durable thanthose hereto-fore in use.

. In the use of paint brushes today, on commercial work especially, itis customary to use a brush steadily throughout a day and to clean it atnight with benzine, gasoline or other similar agent. The bristles of thebirushare packed `compactly together at their upper extremity Where theyare normally bound together in rubber. The usual :cleaning does notpermit these agents to penetrate the bristles for some distance belowthe binding and even a careful cleaning and the use of the iingers in anattempt to spread the bristles apart and admit these agents is notentirely satisfactory. Consequently, from day to day paint accumulatesat the upper end of the brush adjacent the binding, the bristles harden.together in this portion and this hardening gradually extends down thebrush until it is no longer pliable and cannot be used for good work. Itmust then be thrown away or used for painting metal or concrete.

As a result, the life of `a paint brush today in commercial work is lessthan one month. Attempts have been made to use paint or varnish removerto clean brushes in this condition but this has been found to have aninjuriousv eiect upon the bristles. This rapid turnover brushes isespecially noticeable in those cornmunities where it is customary forthe decorator to supply all brushes for his employees as the expense islarge and the men are possibly not as careful in cleaning the brushes asthey would be of their own brushes.

Attempts have been made to make multi-part brushes so that they may bedisassembled, cleaned, and the separate parts reassembled for use. Thisis not satisfactory on commercial work because the loss of one partdestroys the usefulness of the brush and` it must be thrown away or thepart replaced with necessary delays.

Cne object of the present invention is to provide a paint brush that isinexpensive to manufacture and easily cleaned.

Another object of this invention is to provide a paint brush that willmaintain its original pliability over a long duration of time.

A further object of this invention is to provide a paint brush icapableof a longer life of service than those now in known use.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a paint brushcapable of being renewed in wearable portions.

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Yet another object or" this invention is to pro.- vide a paint brushcapable of disassembly `and reassembly without loss of parts.

For aiding in an understanding of the invention, I show in theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, certainarrangements o parts by reference to which the improved paint lorush isdescribed. This den scription and drawings are presented for purposes ofillustration only and are not to be construed so as to limit the scopeof the appended claims unnecessarily.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a paint brush showing oneembodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end View of the paint brush of Fig.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the paint brush of Fig. 1 showing the same inunassembled position ready for cleaning;

Fig. is a View in side elevation of a paint brush showing anothermodification oi the present invention; and

Fig. 5 is a View in side elevation of the paint brush o-f Fig. 4 showingthe same in unassembled position ready for cleaning.

In the usual commercial paint brushthou-` sands of bristles arel mountedtogether cempactly at their upper end and this group ci bristlespreferably tapers toward a point at the lower end for accurate paintingpurposes. To accomplish the objects: of this invention this group ofcompactly mounted bristles is broken up into smaller groups of bristlesand so mounted adjacent each other that the use of the brush forpainting purposes is the same as before. However, the individual groupsmay be separated or spaced from one another for ,cleaning purposes, or aworn group of bristles may be removed after long use and replaced by anew group.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing there is shown` a paint brush having a bodyportion lll, a handle I l and' downwardly depending bristles, indicatedas at l2, mounted tothe body portion.

As shown in Figs. l to 3 inclusive, the bristles l2 are divided intogroups of bristles lll, l5 and l longitudinally of the brush, each groupbeing mounted in rubber or in any Usual manner in a holding element l'l.The holding elements are attached to the body portion for movementrelatively to the body portion and to each other so that each group ofbristles may be cleaned individually. As each group, as shown, is onlyone-third the thickness of the usual brush bristle group, the bristlesmay be thoroughly cleaned up to the holding element I1 and all paintthoroughly removed. The holding elements il of bristle groups I4 and I5may be attached to the body portion I by hinges I8 while bristle groupI5 may be mounted rigidly thereto if desired. In this mounting thegroups Ill and IS will swing away from the central group on either side.

Locking means is provided for holding the bristle groups in operativeposition relative to each other during painting operations. In thepresent embodiment this locking means consists of a sleeve which isslidably mounted to the body portion I0 and the holding elements Id andI6 adjacent their hinged attachment. lIn operative position the sleeve29 is positioned over the hinges and adjacent the holding elements andbody portion, as shown in Fig. l, preventing the bristle groups I l andI5 from swinging away from each other. When cleaning is desired, thesleeve 2D is slid upwardly over the body portion II), clearing thehinges I8 so that the louter bristle groups may swing freely during Vthecleaning operation. Preferably guide slots 22 are provided in the sleeve2!) for cooperation with studs 23 which are so arranged as to limitupward and downward movement of the sleeve 20 to lock and unlock thehinges I6 conveniently.

Sometimes through carelessness paint may harden beneath the sleeve ZI]sealing the sleeve to the body p-ortion or holding elements I1. In theseinstances some diiculty may be encountered in sliding the sleeve 2B tounlock the bristle groups. To remedy this the sleeve 2i! may be brokenor split, as indicated at 24, and a positive sealing and unsealingelement 25 may be used which will break the sleeve loose from thehardened paint. As an example of such an. unsealing element there isshown the cam hook arrangement pivoted at 28 and having the hook portion29 and the cam portion 39. Disposed oppositely the pivoted hook 29 islmounted an eye 3| and a cam stud 32 so that upon unhooking thearrangement, the cam portion 30 will engage the stud 32 causing relativemovement in opposite directions of the ends of the sleeve 20. Otherarrangements, such as an eccentrically mounted disc, hook or a suitcasefastener, may also be used.

Where this unsealing means is used, preferably the slots 22 are of asubstantial width com-- pared to the shank of the guide studs 23 and thestud heads must be correspondingly wider to hold the sleeve 29 to thebrush. This widening of the slots will permit; an unsealing movement ofthe sleeve upon all sides of the brush.

In order to permit the bristle groups to form a solid brush taperingproperly to a point, the hinges IB may be positioned at a slight angleto the normal plane of the mounting of the central bristle group to tendto guide the bristles inwardly, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In thismounting it may be found desirable to cut away portions of the holdingelements Il of the bristle groups I5, as at 33, in order to allow freeswinging movement of the groups I4 and I5.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 4 and 5 there is shown a paint brushhaving the body portion lila, a handle I la and downwardly dependingbristles, indicated as at IZa, mounted to the body portion. The bristlegroups 4i), 4I and 42 are divided longitudinally of the brush and aremounted in holding elements 133 and 4-4. The outer holding elements 43are attached to the body portion Ilia by the hinge members :I5 forswinging movement toward and away from holding element Il which may berigidly attached to the body portion in any suitable manner or form apart of it.

To lock this assembly together, a locking member, slotted at 47 may bemounted on the side of 'the brush for sliding movement relative to thestud 138. This member may extend across the holding elements and intertwith stud members t9 in the holding members 133. Other similar means maybe used for this purpose. For ease in opening and closing the members 43the inner upper edges of the same may be beveled or rounded so therewill be no interference with the central holding member 4G when swingingon their hinges.

Variations of this invention will occur to those skilled in the art andsuch modifications as come within the spirit of the invention areintended to be included in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a pain't brush, a body portion, an easily cleanable assembly forsaid brush including a plurality of bristle groups mounted to said bodyportion and extending in axial alignment therewith in operativeposition, one of said bristle groups being hingedly mounted to said bodyportion for swinging movement toward and away from an adjacent group forcleaning purposes, the hinged mounting of the one bristle group being atan angle to the mounting of the adjacent group to taper the hinged grouptoward said adjacent group to form a single bristle portion, and meansfor locking said bristle groups into a single bristle portion.

2. A structure as defined in claim l wherein the hinged mounting isformed at an angle by providing cut-away portions in the body portionnear said adjacent bristle group for a seat for the hinge.

3. In a paint brush, a body portion, an easily cleanable assembly forsaid brush, including a plurality of bristle groups mounted to said bodyportion and extending in axial alignment therewith, said groups ofbristles being separable one from the other for cleaning purposes whilemounted to said body portion, the plane of mounting of certain bristlegroups positioned at an angle to the mounting plane of another bristlegroup to taper the bristles toward each other, and means for lockingsaid bristle groups into a single bristle portion.

ARTHUR T. ADAMS.

